Novelty noise-makers



Nov. 8, 1955 s. P. LEWIS NOVELTY NOISE-MAKERS Filed NOV. 6, 1953INVENTOR Georgie, 7. Zen/1L6 AT RNEY United States Patent NOVELTY NOISE-MAKERS George P. Lewis, Mineola, N. Y.

Application November 6, 1953, Serial No. 390,628

7 Claims. (Cl. 46196) This invention has reference to an amusementdevice such as a novelty noise-making device, and more particularly toan article made in the form of a fountain pen, pencil or similar writingimplement and which, when operated in a manner normal to such implement,will produce an explosive noise to surprise the holder.

It is an object of the present invention to produce an article whichwill bear a very close resemblance to a fountain pen, pencil or the likeand whichwill contain a simple and effective mechanism for exploding apaper cap when pressure is applied on a part of the pen, such as on aplunger having an end portion disposed at the rear of the pen body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cap-explodingmeans of such a structure as to house the same completely within thebody of the pen, so that no indication will appear externally of the penas to its contents. It is still another object of the invention toprovide a cap-exploding means located within the pen cap and actuated'by a plunger located at the extremity of the cap.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

Fig. l is an elevational view of a novelty noise-maker constructed inaccordance with the invention, with parts of the cap-exploding mechanismand the closure cap being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a view of the cap-exploding mechanism showing the same in itscocked position and with the closure cap omitted to more clearlydisclose construction;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the plunger or trigger of thedevice;

Fig. 4 is a view of the cap-exploding mechanism with the triggeromitted, looking at the structure from the left of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of the hammer, and I Fig. 6 is asectional view, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the barrel or body of the device,the same being of a size and shape to closely resemble the barrelemployed in the conventional ball-point type of fountain pen." Adaptedfor fitment on the rear end of the barrel 1 is a slip-on closure cap 2of conventional form, the same carrying a clip 3. When the cap 2 isfitted in place on the barrel, the device exactly simulates theappearance 0 a ball-point pen.

Mounted on the rear end of the barrel 1 by the rivet, screw or similarfastening element 4, is an upright supporting bar or bracket 5 providedat its lower end with the foot portion 6 through which a rivet, screw orsimilar fastener 4 passes to thus firmly attach the bracket 5 in anupright position on the rear end of the barrel. At the top, the bracket5 is provided with a laterally-bent lug 7 formed with an. aperture 8through which the stem portion 9a of a hammer 9 of the cap- PatentedNov. 8, 1955 exploding or firing mechanism is slidable. At the lower endof the hammer 9 is provided a plate portion 10 formed with a neck 11which fits into an elongated slot 12 formed in the bracket 5. A head 13is formed on the neck 11 to thereby hold the hammer and the bracket 5together in the relationship disclosed and which permits the hammer 9 toslide relatively to the bracket 5. An enlargement 14 at one end of theslot 12 enables the parts 9 and 5 to be assembled together in theslidable. relationship just described.

The hammer 9 is in the form of an elongated strip formed with the plateportion 10 at one end and turned over at its opposite end, as indicatedat 15, said turnedover upper end resulting in the formation of ashoulder 16 which, when the hammer is placed in its cocked position, asshown in Fig. 2, constitutes a detent which takes over the top of thelug 7 near the aperture 8 to thereby retain the hammer 9 in its cockedposition until released therefrom by cam means to be described. A coilspring 20 fits around the stem 9a of the hammer 9 and has one endbearing against the plate portion 10 and its other end maintainedagainst the lug 7, the tendency of the spring being to urge the plateportion 10 into contact with the head of the rivet 4 as seen in Fig. 1.It will thus be apparent that when the hammer is suddenly released fromits cocked position shown in Fig. 2, the spring 29 will urge the plateportion 10 forcibly into impingement with the head of the rivet 4, and acap 23, of the type employed in toy cap-pistols and located between thehead of the rivet 4 and the plate portion 10, will be exploded or fired.

The trigger of the device is shown in Fig. 3, wherein it will be seenthat the same consists of a plunger including a stem 17 mounted forslidable movement through an opening 22 in the end of the closure cap 2,and on which is formed or is attached a conical head 18. The interior ofthe head 13 is formed with an inclined cam surface 19, which, when thetrigger is depressed, will operate against the end of the hammer 9 torelease it from engagement with the portion of the lug 7 over which theshoulder or detent 16 is disposed, to then cause the hammer to be forceddown by its spring 20 to explode the cap 23.

From the foregoing, the operation of the device will be readilyunderstood. The device in its inoperative or uncooked position is shownin Fig. 1. To place the device in cocked position and in readiness foroperation, the closure cap 2 is removed and the hammer is manuallyraised or forced back against the pressure of the spring 20, until theshoulder or detent 16 on the hammer engages over the lug 7 adjacent tothe opening 8 therein. The hammer is thus disposed in a slightly tiltedposition as seen in Fig. 2. A cap 23 is now placed in position on thehead of the rivet 4 and the closure cap 2 is replaced. The

device now presents the aspect of a fountain pen since all of theoperating parts of it are enclosed and are covered and concealed by theclosure cap 2.

When the article is handed to a person, he will proceed in the usualmanner to attempt to advance the point or nib of what he believes is aball-point pen, by pressing on the part of the stem 17 which projectsout of the top of the closure cap 2. As the stem 17 is pressed inwardly,the inclined cam surface 19 of the cone 18 will be forced against theend of the hammer 9, thus causing the hammer to assume a verticalposition and to so align the stem of the hammer with the aperture 8 thatthe detent 16 will no longer extend over the lug 7 and the spring 20will become efiective to force the hammer 9 downwardly and bring theplate portion 10 thereof into impingement with the cap 23 and explode itagainst the head of the rivet 4. The sudden explosive sound emanatingfrom what purports to be a fountain pen will, of course, surprise andstartle the user and afford considerable amusement to onlookers. Toincrease the volume of sound produced by the device one or more openingsmay be provided in the cap 2 at any suitable location therein, andpossibly be located and concealed behind the clip 3. To prevent theplunger or trigger from becoming separated from the cap 2, a lug may beformed out of the cap 2 as shownat 25.

An important and useful feature of the device is that all of theoperating parts of the cap-exploding mechanism are concealed and hiddenby the closure cap. This not only enables the device to provide theexact appearance of a fountain pen or pencil, but it protects thefingers of the user from the effects of a spark which might be createdby the firing of the cap and also prevents parts of the fingers frombeing injured either by the exploding cap or by the movement of thehammer.

While I have particularly shown and described the device as being in theform of a fountain pen, it will be apparent that the same may beembodied in many other articles without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An amusement noise-maker comprising a body in the form of a simulatedwriting implement, a simulated closure fitted on the body, a stemslidable through the closure, a support at one end of the body, aspringpressed hammer slidably mounted on the support and slidablelongitudinally of the body, a cap-support, the hammer being normallyurged by its spring against said cap support, means for holding thehammer in a cocked position away from the cap support and means on thestem for releasing the hammer from cocked position and causing thespring to urge the hammer toward the cap support when said stem ismanually depressed and caused to slidably move through the closure.

2. An amusement noise-maker comprising, a body shaped to resemble awriting implement, a removable closure cap fitted on the body, a stemslidable through one end of the closure cap, a cam member carried by thestern, a seat for an explosive cap, a slidable hammer for impingementagainst the seat, a spring for urging said hammer toward the seat, meansfor holding the hammer in a cocked position and in opposition to theurge of the spring, the hammer having a part adapted for engagement bythe cam member to thereby free the hammer and cause it to be urgedtoward the seat by its spring when the stem is manually slid through thecap toward the hammer, all of the parts of the stem, cam and ham merbeing covered and concealed by the closure cap when the cap is inposition on the body.

3. An amusement noise-maker comprising, an elongated body resembling thebody of a fountain pen, a closure cap fitted over one end of the body, abracket mounted on one end of the body and over which the closure cap isfitted, said bracket including a seat for an explosive cap, a hammerslidable in the bracket, a spring surrounding the hammer and interposedbetween a part of the hammer and a part of the bracket, said springtending to normally urge the hammer toward the seat, the bracket havingan aperture through which a part of the hammer is slidable, the hammerhaving a detent for engaging a part of the bracket to hold the hammer ina cocked position in opposition to the urge of the spring, the closurecap having an aperture extending through it, a trigger member in theform of a stern slidable through said aperture, and means on the triggermember for releasing the hammer from engagement with the bracket andthereby causing the hammer to be urged toward the seat by the spring.

4. An amusement noise-maker comprising, a body shaped to resemble awriting implement, a removable closure cap fitted on an end of the body,a stem slidable through an opening in one end of the closure cap, a cammember carried by the stem and located within the 4 closure cap, a seatfor an explosive cap,'a support, a slidable hammer movable through saidsupport for impingement against the seat, a spring for normally urgingsaid hammer toward the seat, means including parts on the hammer and apart of the support for holding the hammer in a cocked position inopposition to the urge of the spring, the hammer having a part adaptedfor engagement by the cam member to thereby free the hammer and cause itto be urged toward the seat by its spring when the stem is manuallyforced through the cap toward the hammer, all of the parts of the stern,cam support and hammer being covered and concealed by the closure capwhen the cap is in position on the body.

5. An amusement noise-maker comprising, an elongated body resembling thebody of a fountain pen, a closure cap fitted over one end of the body, abracket mounted on one end of the body and over which the closure cap isfitted, said bracket including a seat at one end for an explosive cap, alug at the opposite end of the bracket, a hammer slidable in the lug, aspring surrounding the hammer and interposed between the lug and a partof the hammer, said spring tending to normally urge the hammer towardthe seat, the bracket having an aperture in the lug and through which apart of the hammer is slidable, the hammer having a detent for engaginga part of the bracket to thereby hold the hammer in a cocked position inopposition to the urge of the spring, the closure cap having an apertureextending axially through it, a trigger member in the form of a stemslidable through said aperture, and cam means on the trigger member forreleasing the hammer from engagement with the bracket and therebycausing the hammer to be urged toward the seat by the spring.

6. An amusement device as provided for in claim 5, wherein the cam meanson the trigger member consists of a cone-shaped head on the stem, saidcone-shaped head being provided with an inclined inner surface forcontact with the end of the hammer to shift the hammer into a positionto cause it to be slid through the aperture in the lug by the urge ofthe spring.

7. An amusement noise-maker comprising an elongated body resembling thebarrel of a fountain pen, a closure cap fitted over the end of the body,a bracket secured to the end of the body and covered and concealed bythe closure cap, the bracket having a laterally-extended foot portionoverlying the end of the body and held thereagainst by a fasteningelement, said fastening element having a head constituting a cap-firingelement, the bracket being provided with an apertured lug at itsopposite end, a hammer having a stem slidable through the aperture inthe lug, the hammer having a plate portion at one end adapted forimpingement with the head of the fastening element, a spring surroundingthe stem of the hammer and interposed between the plate portion thereofand the lug and tending to normally urge the hammer in the direction ofthe fastener head, the hammer being provided witha detent to engage overa part of the lug when the hammer is urged away from the fastener headagainst the pressure of the spring, a plunger slidable through theclosure cap, and a cam member carried by the plunger and operativeagainst the detentcarrying end of the hammer to disengage the hammerfrom its cocked engagement with the lug and thereby cause the hammer tobe urged by the spring into impingement against a firing cap disposedbetween the plate portion of the hammer and the fastener head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS591,827 Drew Oct. 19, 1897 2,640,297 Adams June 2, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS744,874 France Jan. 31, 193.3

